


Sweet Home (Utah)

by nyasty_boy



Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: College AU, Kinda, M/M, Roadtrips, hitchhikers - Freeform, this is such a mess but i worked rlly hard on it!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyasty_boy/pseuds/nyasty_boy
Summary: sweet home alabamawhere the skies are so bluesweet home alabamalord, i'm comin' home to yousweet home alabama - lynyrd skynyrd





	Sweet Home (Utah)

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays to @crystal-melanin over on tungle - im hoping ur not in the uk like me so this isnt too late for you lol  
> i might continue this au in the future cause it was fun and i have a few ideas for it!! idk lol  
> have fun and stay safe kids

“Are you  _ sure _ you’ve got everything?” james is stood next to the trunk of the car, brows raised and a tired frown on his face, “we’re not turning around again, and i swear to god i’ll buy whatever you're missing and kill you with it when we get there.”

Aleks scoffs and rolls his eyes, grinning as he gets up off the bonnet of the car, “you wouldn't kill me, you’d miss me too much.”

“Try me, motherfucker.” james slams it shut and walks over to the driver’s side, sighing out like aleks is  _ the most annoying _ , which he isn't,  _ obviously _ .

Aleks climbs into the passenger side through the window - aleks might have broken the door a few months ago by getting james’ car into a  _ slight _ t-bone accident while he was driving home drunk after a party - and tugs on his seatbelt, putting his feet up on the dash and frowning at james when he slaps them off.

“Someone’s pissy,” he mutters, slouching down in the seat so the belt presses up against his neck.

“Yeah, cause we’re  _ behind schedule _ because of  _ someone _ ,” james pulls out of the driveway - for the second time that day - and they drive through their little college town, past the crappy frat-houses and sororities with banners up and beer bottles in the front yard, the occasional student  _ still _ passed out around the place, “and i’d rather not waste more time. We only have a couple days in LA and i don't wanna waste them.”

“If you’d listen to me and speed up a little it wont take  _ three fucking days _ to get there!” aleks is too aware of how they sound like an old married couple, “why do we have to sleep on the side of the fucking road - in the  _ desert?! _ ”

“So we don't crash and die!”

“You’re such a coward, there’s not gonna be anyone on the road, it’s  _ Utah! _ ”

James laughs, aleks watches as the annoyance drains from his face, “you fucking dipshit, do you really think that utah is some sort of uninhabited alien state?!”

“Nah, man, that’s Nevada and its only for, like, three hours.”

James just sits in silence for a few moments with a shocked face, raising his brows before rubbing his mouth and sighing out, “you need to lay off the fucking bong.”

“Oh my  _ god! _ ”

\--

“I spy, with my little eye,” aleks toes his shoes off into the footwell with a soft hum, tilting his head back and studying the rather dirty roof of the car  as he puts his feet on the dash - it’s been two hours since they left (for the second time) and he’s getting irritably bored.

“Oh please, god, not ‘i spy’.”

“Something beginning with…” he continues, ignoring james, “D.”

“I'm not playing this game with you,” james flicks his eyes over to aleks briefly, then frowning and slapping at his feet, “is it  _ dirty-fucking-feet _ , perhaps?”

Aleks scoffs, “ _ No _ , idiot,” he puts his feet back up again and wriggles his toes, “try again.”   


“We’re not playing this anymore, i'm not playin’ this fuckin’ game with you.”

“You haven't even guessed properly!” 

James slaps his hand against the steering wheel, “ _ properly _ -”   


“Is there a fuckin’ echo?”

“-its a kid’s game! Why can't you just sit quietly?”

“I'm bored, dude,” aleks sighs tiredly, reaching down and fiddling with his air conditioning, “i just want something to do.”

“Sleep, read, play on your fuckin’ phone,” james counts them off as he speaks, aleks glares at him with a hard frown, “i'm not your entertainment system.”

“Whatever,” aleks huffs, fiddling with the heating more until there’s a frigid breeze blasting out, “it was  _ dickhead _ , anyway, since you're fuckin’ sat next to me.” he presses a few more buttons idly before going still when the car lets out a  _ horrific _ shuddering groan, the ac shutting off a few moments after. Aleks doesn't meet james’ eyes, able to see in his wing mirror that the other man is  _ livid _ .

“Backseat,” he snaps, fingers tightening on the weel, the leather creaking, “ _ now. _ ”

Aleks climbs across the centre console to the backseat without a complaint.

\--

They’re getting close to the edges of Utah when the silence in the car begins to get boring.

Aleks is laid out on the back seat, legs bent and crossed at the knee, foot pressed into the back of james’ head-rest. His phone is dead, resting on the strip of skin that’s exposed by his shirt riding up to try and cool  _ some _ part of his body down. The ac has been broken for three hours, now, and it’s sending him insane.

All he’s done is think, think about stupid shit he's done or plans on doing. He’s thought about the crappy little apartment they’re leaving behind for the next week, the half finished gallon of milk that’ll probably be rancid in the fridge by the time they both get back, whether the curds inside would count as cream cheese and if he could put off going grocery shopping and buying the nice, expensive cream cheese that james adores.

He’s also thought about james.

Not just about switching his cream cheese with rancid milk, as fun as that sounds, but about how james makes him feel. He thinks about his dumb smile, and his dumb dimples, and the shitty way his own heart flutters and his cheeks go too red - like when he’s had too much of the nice brandy that he saves for special occasions.

He thinks about how it’s always a special occasion around james, and how they got drunk last christmas holiday when there was no one around and they had no responsibilities, how they played scrabble and drank just the two of them because aleks couldn't go home and james didn't want to leave him alone for a holiday.

He thinks about how, despite his studies in english lit and journalism, he struggled with spelling  _ brandishing _ (definitely the alcohol’s fault) and james laughed so hard and bright, the sound echoing from deep in his belly and making the room that little bit warmer.

He thinks about how he kissed him, soft and sweet despite the bitter spice of the brandy remaining on their lips, how james kissed  _ back _ until their mouths were bruised and tender, the music from james’ playlist acting as the perfect soundtrack and leaving them dazed and breathless, similar to a romantic comedy in which the girl  _ finally _ gets the guy.

Aleks sighs, shoving one arm under his head and stretching out his back a little. He turns his phone over  _ again _ before pushing his foot a little firmer against the head-rest, “james.”

“Yes?” he sounds as tired as aleks feels, and he can see the way his fingers grip the wheel a little tighter. He feels kinda mean about annoying him, now.

“Nothin’.”

Aleks meets his eyes in the rearview mirror by accident, quickly looking away and turning over to face the back of the seat.

\--

They pull over just as the sun begins to set, driving off road for a while before parking behind some rocks (james is adamant they don't get arrested for camping next to the road where there’s no lay-bys, but aleks is just glad to be able to stand and walk around).

Aleks carries an armful of sticks over to where the car is with a sigh, dumping them down and taking out his lighter from his hoodie pockets, “bet you’re happy about my bad habits now, yeah?”

“If you hasn't broken the fuckin’ air conditioning in the car, we wouldn't have to do this.” james kicks some rocks into a basic circle, raising a brow.

“Whatever,” aleks kneels carefully, sparking his lighter idly a couple times, “you’re just glad you’re gonna be able to cuddle me when it gets cold.” his tone is jovial, but the blush on james’ face lets on more than words would. Aleks lights some of the shrubbery before sitting back, huffing.

“Hey, aleks?”

“Yeah?”

“Isn't the fire meant to be  _ inside _ the rock circle?” he’s grinning as he says this, which tells aleks that he isn't all that annoyed anymore, so he just curses and kicks the rocks over to the fire, then sitting back down.

“It was meant to be abstract.”

“Because bush fires are  _ incredibly _ abstract.” james settles down next to him.

Aleks scoffs, “well, duh,” he sits back, staring up at the sky and all the stars shining down. If he focuses hard enough, he can make out some constellations. He tilts his head idly and traces them with his eyes, smiling softly to himself, completely taken aback at how many stars there are. James sighs out harshly and aleks looks to him with a raised brow, balking a little when he finds himself on the receiving end of a glare, “what did i do?!”

“You just…” james screws his mouth up, “you piss me off all the time, annoy me and pester me n’shit-”

“Sorry?” aleks cuts in, eyes wide and confused.

“-n’then you do shit like  _ that! _ ”

“Like  _ what?!” _

“You- you look up at the stars all fuckin’-” he gesticulates wildly, “you pull this  _ Perks of Being A Wallflower _ bullshit and make me wanna kiss you, dickhead."

Aleks widens his eyes a little more before softening, grinning crookedly as he leans on one hand and shifts a little closer to james, “well, i wouldn't be completely opposed…”

He huffs again, chewing on his bottom lip. Aleks tilts his head and reaches up slow, brushing along james’ bottom lip with his thumb and freeing it from the onslaught of his teeth; he leans in close and presses a gentle kiss against them, fingers pressed gently along the expanse of james’ jawline and nails scratching through his beard slightly.

James is the first to pull away, tangling his fingers with aleks’ and pressing into the kiss slightly before leaning back and looking away, staring at the fire (more like a pile of embers, now) and hoping that the night hides his blush, “i- uh…”

“Sorry,” aleks pulls his hand away slowly, sitting back and turning his head away, “sorry.” he repeats.

“No, it’s, uh… its fine… that- that was nice.”

“Yeah?”

“...yeah.” james smiles.

\--

Aleks is driving, now, and it’s a complete relief.

He’s occupied, his fingers tight around the wheel and his eyes focused on the road. No more annoying james just to entertain himself, no more dozing off during the day and struggling to sleep at night- although, that might have been due to the  _ completely awesome kiss _ that they shared before they went to sleep.

But, alas, he may be driving but that doesn't prevent him from making dumb decisions.

He adjusts his sunglasses again against the harsh glare of the sun, puffing out a breath and flicking his eyes to james quickly. He’s asleep, beanie pulled down to mask his eyes from the sunlight. Aleks turns back to the road with a soft smile, sighing to himself; he quickly furrows his brows again when he sees someone walking slow and casual along the road with their thumb out.

For some  _ odd _ reason, he doesn't even hesitate before pulling over and rolling the driver-side window down, “yo, dude, where’re you heading?”

The man looks over and smiles thankfully, walking over and leaning down so he's at eye level, “i was driving to st george when my car shit itself and i decided walking would be quicker, you heading that way?”

They had only been out of Richfield for an hour before they pulled over last night, and aleks has only been driving for an hour or two. They’re getting close to the halfway point between richfield and cedar city, “yeah, we’re driving through there directly, actually. I can give you a lift, as long as you don't mind some second-hand bitching from this dude,” he motions to the still-sleeping james next to him with a smirk, “hop in. what’s your name?”

“Brett, you?” ‘brett’ tugs the back door open and climbs in, dumping his bag down next to him.

“Aleks- lemme just wake sleeping beauty so he can say hi,” aleks pulls the car back into drive and continues driving down the road, adjusting his sunglasses again and poking james’ side, against his ribs where he’s ticklish, “james, dude, wake up.”   


“Mhm…” he shifts and slaps at aleks’ hand, “what?” his voice is hoarse and sleep-groggy.

“Say hi to brett, dude, don't be so fuckin’ rude…”

“Hm…” he shifts and leans his arm against the door, resting his head against his own bicep, “hi, brett…”

James goes quiet for a few moments, and aleks meets brett’s eyes in the rearview mirror, mouthing “ _ three, two, one…” _

“Wait- who- who the fuck is  _ brett?! _ ” he bolts up like a gunshot, tugging his beanie off from over his eyes and looking to the backseat, paling considerably, “oh my god, aleks,  _ no _ , you did  _ not _ let a hitchhiker in my car!”

“I did,” aleks says with a smile at the same time that brett mutters a low  _ he did _ with a chuckle. “It’s my charitable act for the year, we’re heading through st george so i thought we could give him a lift there.”

“He’s gonna fucking murder us, dude!” james flicks his eyes to brett, “no offense!”

“None taken,” brett smirks, “i would have done it while you were asleep, the twink looks easy to overpower, anyway.”

“Oh, great,” james laughs incredulously, aleks mutters a soft  _ i'm not a fucking twink _ , “now i’ll never be able to sleep again- i swear to god, aleks, i close my eyes for ten fuckin’ minutes and you’re letting strangers into the car. Soon you’ll be playing skip-rope with a rattle snake.”

“I mean, it’s actually been two hours, so my need for mischief has been off the charts for a while now.” aleks smirks, raising a brow as he sits back more, driving with one hand.

“Need for mischief- wait,  _ two hours?! _ We’re meant to hand off after an hour, asshole! Why didn't you wake me?”

“I thought you needed the sleep,” aleks pushes his glasses up onto his forehead, instead pulling the sunvisor down so he can look james in the eye, smiling a little sheepishly, “i couldn't really wake you, it felt like kicking a puppy.”

James stares at him, mouth opening and closing a few times, before flicking his eyes to brett and sighing out, sinking into his seat, “whatever.”

\--

“So, brett,” aleks pipes up after a few half an hour, shoving his- now empty -bottle of water into the cup holder, “how come you were in buttfuck-nowhere, utah?”

The man chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck, “i had a business meeting, kinda unplanned so i couldn't book a plane ticket in time, and i was driving back when my car broke down.”

“See, james?” aleks shoves the other man a little, poking at his elbow with a smirk, “completely normal, not gonna Dahmer us at all.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” brett laughs, tilting his head, “i've always been curious as to what human flesh tastes like.”

Aleks laughs out, grinning as he slows the car to take a turn, while james lets out an incredulous little noise, close to a squawk, and rubs at his face, “don't fuckin’ say that!”

“Dude, if i help hide james’ body, can you let me live?” aleks meets brett’s eyes in the rearview mirror, smirking big.

Brett reaches forwards for a high five with a laugh, “sounds like a good fuckin’ plan, partner in crime.”

Aleks high fives him with a laugh and a crooked grin, not noticing james’ glare or the flush on his face.

\--

The bonfire is radiating pure warmth, waves of heat pouring up and out along with the smoke and embers that flutter around, almost idle in how they slowly flutter to the ground and extinguish themselves. 

They’ve unearthed the cooler from under all their shit in the trunk of the car - some of said shit still remains on the floor, scattered and messy, but aleks decided thats a morning problem and dragged a log over to sit on before james could complain and force him to move it all back into the crappy little car. Aleks is perched on the log still, knees drawn up only a few inches from his chest and beer balanced precariously on his kneecap. Brett’s sat on his beat up rucksack a few metres away in one direction, also nursing his cold brew in his weathered hands, while james is a shorter distance away in the other direction. Aleks could reach out and touch him if he wanted to (which he obviously  _ doesn't _ ), and he can clearly see the pretty flush on the apples of his cheeks that the fire is causing. 

Aleks stretches his legs out quietly, feet slowly cooking in his shoes but he doesn't really care, he’s too comfortable and warm to give a fuck about anything like his basic health. He watches james quietly, eyes lidded as the smoke curls around them all in the air. He curls his fingers a little tighter around the neck of his beer, tilting his head and imagining his fingers are wrapped around the ringlets of his hair instead.

He comes out of his little reverie and notices james is now staring back, brow raised and the corner of his mouth curling up gently in a smirk. He flushes bright red in embarrassment and goes to turn away, but before he can start staring at the fire instead Brett slams the bottom of his beer against the top of aleks’, causing him to let out an indignant shout before rapidly trying to drink down all the foam. Aleks grimaces sharply at the grit from the bottom of brett’s bottle, but james’ laugh makes it all worth it.

“Dude, are you gonna fuckin’ pay attention now?” brett laughs too as he talks, grinning all handsome and aleks realises how  _ fucked _ he is cause there’s a handsome dude on each side of him, two slices of  _ stupidly  _ handsome bread with some  _ stupidly _ enamoured cheese in the middle.

“He’s already out again, oh my god,” james grins bright and sips at his beer, leaning back on one hand, “i swear he's not usually this fucking dumb.”

“Hey, i'm listening!”

“Then you might wanna know that your shoes are melting.”

Aleks lifts his foot and brings it close to his face, maybe he's a little more drunk or tired than he thought cause he sends himself careening back to the floor, letting out a retch and a shout at the smell of burnt rubber.

“Jesus  _ fuck! _ ” he laughs out, letting go of his own leg and just staying laid out on his back, staring up at the stars as the other two laugh loud and raucous and yet somehow so  _ right _ .

\--

Aleks takes over driving duty again the next morning since he's the least hungover - not to say he  _ isn't _ hungover - and to prevent causing james grief by making mischief with brett while they're both bored.

Brett’s laid out on the backseat, a cold bottle of water held against his temple to try battle the heat and the headache; james is in a similar state, beanie pulled over his face and bottle against the back of his neck while he huffs and whines about their lack of painkillers.

After twenty minutes of driving and around five minutes of james’ silence (finally), a sign shows up on the horizon ahead:  _ St George - 50 miles _ .

He chews on his lip idly, frowning and looking back at brett where he’s slowly dozing off. Despite only knowing him for a day, he’s come to like the guy and doesn't  _ really _ wanna see him go. The idea feels like a lost opportunity - for what, he doesn't know.

“Hey, uh, brett,” he waits for the non-committal groan before continuing, “what’re you gonna do once we get to St George?”

Brett sits up slow and rubs at his jaw, furrowing his brows and grimacing, “well, i'm hopin’ my buddy will be there to pick me up and take me the rest of the way, he didn't have enough fuel to get me directly from my car and i'm not lendin’ him any more cash, so this was the best plan we had.”

Aleks nods and chews his lip, frowning slightly, “and the destination after that?”

“LA- dude, is this  _ 20 Questions _ ? Should i get a scoreboard written up?”

“Nah, sorry. Just curious-”

“Jesus  _ christ,  _ can you guys keep it down?” james frowns, peeking out from under his hat, “you’re so fuckin’  _ loud _ …”

“Sorry, james.” they chorus, smirking tiredly at each other after.

\--

Aleks pulls up next to a run-down gas station on the other side of St George, the windows stained brown with the sand blowing all around. He pulls the car into park with a hum, frowning heavy down at the wheel before looking up, smiling tight at brett, “well, we’re here.”

Brett nods, grinning soft and small up ahead at them both, “thanks for the ride, you guys. I wouldn't advise picking up hitchhikers again, but, hey, maybe you’ll meet someone as cool as me again.” he opens his door, kicking it open the rest of the way when it gets stuck halfway, and stands up, slamming it shut after and slapping the roof of the car. Aleks hesitates before driving along slowly.

“Hey,” james pipes up after a while, frowning as he settles a hand on aleks’ forearm and squeezes gently, “you okay? You're quiet.”

“Should we have left him?” aleks fidgets nervously, gripping the wheel a little tighter, “i don't- it doesn't feel right.”

“We can turn around, if you want…” james shrugs, leaning back with a soft frown, “you like him.”

“He’s funny and nice, i don't wanna leave him out here with no surefire way outta here-” aleks flicks his eyes to james idly, then back to the road. He looks over properly after a few moments, “-wait, are you jealous?” he pulls over, parking the car and raising a brow.

“No!” james scoffs, grinning weak, “why would i be jealous? I have nothing to be jealous of, i'm not jealous.”

“You  _ are _ , you’re jealous that i like someone that isn't you!”

“So fuckin’ what?” james turns and faces him properly, frowning heavy, “maybe i am! But it’s not my fault, it’s always been just  _ us _ , even when you’re sleeping around at parties, you come home and hang out with  _ me _ , you laugh and fuck around with  _ me _ ,” he laughs a little hoarse, “i sound like such a child…”   


“You’re right,” aleks frowns, reaching over and cupping james’ cheek before he can turn away, “it’s always been us, and no matter what its  _ always _ gonna be  _ us _ . No one, not even some random fuckin’ hitchhiker, can get in the way of that,” he runs his thumb over the arch of james’ cheek bone, “it’s always been  _ you _ , james.”

James widens his eyes before pulling a face and looking away, scrubbing at his eyes roughly, “turn the fuckin’ car around, we’re gonna get your fuckin’ hitchhiker.”

Aleks grips his arm gently, before unbuckling his belt and leaning in close, kissing his cheek firm and probably a little too hard, “thanks, dickhead.”

“Whatever.”

Aleks turns the car around quickly, speeding down the road and back into St George. He reaches the same shitty little gas station and rolls down his window when he sees brett, leaning out and putting his hands around his mouth, unable to talk without laughing, “get in the car, loser!” he shouts out, waving wildly after.

He settles back down in the car, gripping james’ hand tight on the console between them as he smiles bright at brett, rubbing his thumb along james’ knuckles.

**Author's Note:**

> please dont pick up hitchhikers


End file.
